In his introduction to the subject of temptation this weekend Trevor Crawford asked a series of questions to see if any of us were above temptation or below temptation. Tuscany 2009

One of the questions was whether anyone was too intelligent to be above temptation to which one of the young people apparently said: “if he isn’t too intelligent there isn’t much hope for the rest of us” (meaning Trevor himself).

The conclusion, of course, is that we all face temptation. And, if we are honest we all give in to them more often than we would like to admit.

We can read the story of Genesis 1 (excellently read by some of the young people) and condemn Adam and Eve for their lack of self-control, but none of us can be sure that we would fair any better put in the same situation.

Here’s a summary of Trevor’s advice for coping with temptation:

  • Step 1: Understand God’s safety barriers
  • Step 2: Disengage your attention from the temptation
  • Step 3: Turn to Jesus
  • Step 4: Read God’s word
  • Step 5: Trust God to provide spiritual escape routes

Mansell Morgan visited us from Manchester to bring us a different message from 1 Peter 2:

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

1 Peter 2

The words that spoke to me were these words:

Make known the greatness of God by knowing His greatness.

It’s very easy to forget who we are and Mansell’s message is a great reminder, but it’s also a great reminder that there is a purpose to being a “chosen people”.